Students shine at research conference

The Undergraduate and Graduate Research Conference showcases the best and brightest
of our students.

The Academic Excellence Series showcases the best and the brightest of Clarion University
and nowhere is that more apparent than at the Undergraduate and Graduate Research
Conference.

At the conference, students put their research and literature reviews on display and
it varied across disciplines and interests.

Some research topics had titles longer than your arm, while others have titles that
may seem shocking like student Lara Mahaffy's topic of "Female Hysteria in the Victorian
Era: The Medical Community, Society and Perceptions of Sexuality."

Although her work may sound risqué, Mahaffy's professional approach to the topic wasn't.
Mahaffy said in the Victorian era "women's sexuality was sort of viewed as an illness"
and women were experiencing sexual frustration. To relieve this frustration, women
were manually stimulated by doctors and midwives without it being considered sexual.

Times eventually changed regarding that topic but times haven't changed regarding
another. Directly beside Mahaffy was Kristy McKee whose topic "The Divide of the People"
focused on the discrimination everyone uses against others.

"Discrimination – you see it everywhere," McKee said. "Nobody's absent from this problem."

She explained that a person's brain tries to simplify everything it takes in, but
the problem is that people aren't simple. Also, those same oversimplifications are
keeping you alive in helping you discern between things like danger and safety and
food and non-food.

The trick is to be aware of our discriminating brains, understanding them and modifying
our behavior accordingly.

"If you can become aware of how your brain can trick you, you can decrease it," she
said.

Josh Domitrovich (left) listens to a student's presentation on her research project
at the Undergraduate and Graduate Research Conference.

Her hope is that these psychological skills can help reduce wars and promote peace.
In order to help her with this project she joined groups that were outside her comfort
zone such as Ultimate Frisbee and religious clubs. While her research at times made
her uncomfortable, she said she had fun and made new friends.

Other students conducted literature reviews like Jessica Dgien, Jayme Krause and Taylor
Walsh who focused on the topic of Huntington's disease for greater understanding.

Another group of students had to learn how to take a photograph just by looking at
a professional's photograph. The subject matter in the photograph was water droplets.

Alyssa Tufano, Tahj Dickerson and Austin Robinson tested camera settings and other
variables to achieve photographs with still water drops for their project "Masterminds
and the Art of Capturing Water Droplets."

Some research projects combined disciplines and passions like Leah Keth who is an
art and biology double major. She eventually wants to become a scientific illustrator.
Her drawings on the micro caddis fly were on display.

Other projects found surprising results like that of Ariel Wenner and Victoria Porter
whose work titled "Analysis of Fish Behavior and Respiration in Fluctuating Temperature
Cycles" discovered that fish in the area adapt to changing water temperatures and
their breathing slows or speeds up according to those temperatures.

Wenner said they were interested in this topic because the weather in Clarion always
seems to change suddenly and wondered what the impact might be on fish. There also
are some implications of climate change in their work.

Other research projects were "Holy Frack," "Implementing Technology to Bring Trigonometry
Outside the Classroom," The Impact of the Roosevelt-Taft Quarrel on the 1912 Presidential
Election," "An Analysis on the Understory Composition in Clarion Woods" among many,
many others.